Folding door pivot pin retainers



Maflh 9, 1965 Lyn. DlcKlNsoN E'rAL 3,172,146

FOLDING DOOR PIVOT PIN RETAINERS .Gww%%.

ATTORNEYS.

March 9, 1965 L. R. DlcKlNsoN TAL 3,172,146

FOLDING DOOR PIVOT PIN RETAINERS Filed Dec. ze, 1962 2 sheets-sheet 2 ENTORS ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 3,172,146 FOLDHNG DOR IIVT PIN RETAINERS Lloyd R.Dickinson and William V. Vessel@ Pittsburgh, Pa., assignors to McKinneyManufacturing Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of PennsylvaniaFiled Dec. 26, 1962, Ser. No. 247,036 6 Claims. (Cl. 16-129) Thisinvention relates -totolding doors, and more part-icularly to the socketmembers in which the pivots of such doors are retained.

In Patent Number 2,987,756 means are disclosed which permit the pivotpins of a folding door to move laterally toward and away from theadjacent door jamb as the door is opened and closed. This is desiredbecause when a folding door is made from panels that are hinged togetheron a vertical axis, the width of the door increases slightly when itfirst starts to open, due to a lining up of the diagonal dimensions ofthe panels as they are :inclined relative to each other. To allow forthis momentary increase in width in cases where the free edge of theclosed door engages the door frame, the bearings that house the pivotpins of the door are slidably mountoccasionally something becomes caughtbetween the pivp oted edge of the door and the door frame and this maycause trouble by damaging the pivot bearings, bending the pivot pins oreven cracking the door.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a Afolding doormounted in the general manner shown in Patent 2,987,75 6, in which atleast one of the pivot bearings can be forced away from the adjacentdoor jamb if something becomes caught between the latter and the edge ofthe door.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is aV front View of a closedfolding door;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view, partly in vertical section, ofthe door construction of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged bottom view of the upper pivot retainer taken onthe` line III-III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the lower pivot retainer, taken'onthe line IV-,IV of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a combined end view and cross section, right side up, of theupper pivot retainer taken on the line V-V of FIG. 3; and

4and downwardly extending pivot pins 4 and 5 that project intoreta-iners6 and 7, respectively, secured to the door frame 8. The opposite or freeedge of the door has an upwardly extending guide member 9 that isslidable back and forth in a horizontal track 10 secured to the top ofthe doorway along .the .top of the closed door. While the door isclosed, its free edge engages or nearly touches the adjoining side orjamb of the doorway. Its opposite or pivoted edge, however, is spaced ashort distance from the adjacent door jamb for a purpose that Athescrew.

lzdti Patented Mar. 9, 1965 ICC.

will become clear presently. This space between the.

door and jamb may beconcealed by a molding strip 11 lsecured to thejamb. When the door is opened by pullward and away from the adjacentdoor jamb. Thus, as Y shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5, the upper pivot pinprojects up into a vertical hole i5 in a bearing 16 that is slidablymounted on a horizontal screw 17. The bearing and screw are disposed ina downwardly opening recess 18 formed in the elongated horizontal bodyof a metal bracket 19. This bracket may take various forms, the oneshown being formedV from sheet metal having downturned side walls andend walls. The bracket is mounted in the outer end of track It) and isheld in place by a screw 21 extending up through a hole in the top ofthe bracket near lits inner end' and through a slot 22 in the top of thetrack and into ther door frame above.

Between the screw and the inner end of the bracket body thelatter isprovided with a downturned lug 23 provided with `a hole in which theinner end of the screw is rotatably mounted. The head of the screwengages the lug. The opposite end of the screw is rotatably mounted inthe outer endA wall 24 of the bracket, where it is enlarged to restrainthe screw Afrom moving toward the opposite end of the bracket. Thebearing is vurged away from the outer end of the bracket recess by aspring, preferably'a coil spring 26 encircling the screw. The oppositeside of the bearing engages an inner nut 27 mounted on the screw andhaving its upper edge in sliding engagement to prevent the nut fromturning with By turning the screw, this nut therefore can be moved alongit in order to move bearing 16 toward the outer end of the bracketrecess or to permit the spring to move the bearing toward the inner endof the recess. Since it is desirable that the pressure of the spr-ingremain constant, an outer nut 28 may be mounted on the screw inengagementfwith the outer end of the spring and the bracket body aboveit. When the screw is turned, both nuts will travel along it togetherand therefore the length of the spring will not be changed. By beingable to adjust the bearing along the screw, the Vbearing can be locatedin the position that will give the desired space between the uppercornerof the door and the adjacent side of the door frame.

The door is supported by the lower bearing 30 for the lower pivot pin,as shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 6. This bearing has a vertical hole-,31 .intowhich the pin projects. The bearing is disposed in the recess 32 of anelongated horizontalbody of a sheet metal bracket 33. The bracket bodyhas'a bottom wall, upwardly extending side walls and inner and outer endwalls. The outer Vend wall may be provided with an upward extension 34,lthrough which extends screws 35 that fasten the bracket to the doorjamb.

In some cases however, the bracket may be fastened tothe oor.

Like the upper bearing, the lower bearing is slidably mounted on ahorizontal screw 36 extending lengthwise of the bracket recess. Theinner end of the screw is rotatably and slidably mounted in a hole inthe inner end wall 37 of the bracket. The bearing is urged toward theinner end of the recess by a spring, which most suitably is a coilspring 3S encircling the outer end portion of the screw. To keep thepressure on the screw constant, its outer end may engage a nut 39mounted on the screw and having a lower edge slidable along the bottomof the recess to keep the nut from turning when the Screw is turned. Thebearing can be adjusted toward the adjacent door jamb by means of aninner non-rotatable nut Iii, likewise mounted on the screw and engagingthe side of the bearing opposite Vto the spring. When the screw isturned counterclockwise, the two nuts will be moved toward the inner endof the recess to move the bearing in that direction also. Adjustment ofthe bearing permits it to be aligned with the upper bearing for properoperation of the door.

A further feature of this invention is that if sufficient force isexerted against the pivoted edge of the door in a direction away fromthe jamb, such as by something caught between them, the lower bearingcan move toward the inner end of the bracket because the screw can slidelengthwise in the bracket hole in which it is mounted. However, tonormally restrain such movement of the screw so that the bearing willremain in correct operating position, a spring is compressed between theinner nut 4l and the inner end of the bracket. Such a spring preferablyis a coil spring 42 encircling the screw. This arrangement preventsdamage to the door and its mounting in case an article is pinchedbetween the pivoted edge of the door and the door frame.

It will be understood that the top and bottom pivot retainers couldchange places without affecting the operation of the door. Likewise, theupper retainer could be made the same as the lower one, as far aslongitudinal movement of the adjusting screw is concerned, but to securethe advantages of this invention it is believed to be unnecessary forboth screws to be movable lengthwise in their brackets.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, we have explainedthe principle of our invention and have illustrated and described whatwe now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, we desire tohave it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, theinvention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated'and described.

We claim:

1. Anadjustable retainer for a vertical pivot pin of a folding door,comprising a bracket provided with an elongated horizontal body havinginner and outer ends and adapted to be mounted in a doorway with itsouter end adjacent a side of the doorway, said body being provided witha vertically opening longitudinal recess, a horizontal screw rotatablymounted in said recess and extending lengthwise thereof and having ahead end adjacent the inner end of said body, means restraininglongitudinal movement of the screw, a bearing in said recess slidablymounted on said screw and provided with a vertical hole for receiving adoor pivot pin, a spring in said recess between its outer end and saidbearing urging the bearing toward the inner end of the recess, a nutmounted on the screw in engagement with the side of the bearing oppositesaid spring, an edge of the nut engaging the bracket body to hold thenut from rotating when the screw is turned by its head end, whereby thebearing can be adjusted lengthwise of said recess.

2. An adjustable retainer for a vertical pivot pin of a folding door,comprising a bracket provided with an elongated horizontal body havinginner and outer ends and adapted to be mounted in a doorway with itsouter end adjacent a side of the doorway, said body being provided witha vertically opening longitudinal recess, a horizontal screw in saidrecess extending lengthwise thereof and having a head end adjacent theinner end of said body, said body being provided with portions rotatablysupporting the opposite ends of the Screw, a bearing in said recessslidably mounted on said screw and provided with a vertical hole forreceiving a door pivot pin, an outer nut in the recess mounted on theouter end portion of the screw, a coil spring on the screw compressedbetween said nut and bearing, and an inner nut mounted on the screw inengagement with the side of the bearing opposite said spring, edges ofsaid nuts engaging the bracket body to hold the nuts from rotating whenthe screw is turned by its head end, whereby the bearing can be adjustedlengthwise of said recess.

3. An adjustable retainer for a vertical pivot pin of a folding door,comprising a bracket provided with an elongated horizontal body havinginner and outer ends'and adapted to be mounted in a doorway with itsouter end adjacent a side of the doorway, said body being provided witha vertically opening longitudinal recess, a horizontal screw in saidrecess extending lengthwise thereof and having a head end slidably androtatably mounted in the inner end of said body, a bearing in saidrecess mounted on the screw and provided with a vertical hole forreceiving a door pivot pin, a spring in said recess between its outerend and said bearing urging the bearing toward the inner end of therecess, a nut mounted on the screw j in engagement with the side of thebearing opposite said spring, and a spring in said recess between itsinner end and said nut urging the nut toward the outer end of therecess, an edge of the nut engaging the bracket body to hold the nutfrom rotating when the screw is turned by its head end, whereby thebearing can be adjusted lengthwise of said recess.

4. An adjustable retainer in accordance with claim 3, in which saidlast-mentioned spring is a coil spring encircling said screw.

5. An adjustable retainer in accordance with claim 3, in which both ofsaid springs are coil springs encircling said screw.

6. An adjustable retainer for a vertical pivot pin of a folding door,comprising a bracket provided with an elongated horizontal body havinginner and outer ends and adapted to be mounted in a doorway, said bodybeing provided with a vertically opening longitudinal recess, ahorizontal screw in said recess extending lengthwise thereof and havinga head and slidably and rotatably mounted in the inner end of said body,an outer nut in the recess mounted on the opposite end of the screw, abearing in said recess slidably mounted on said screw and provided witha vertical hole for receiving a door pivot pin, a coil spring on thescrew compressed between said nut and bearing, an inner nut mounted onthe screw in engagement with the side of the bearing opposite saidspring, and a spring in said recess between its inner end and said innernut urging that nut toward the outer end of the recess, edges of saidnuts engaging the bracket body to hold the nuts from rotating when thescrew is turned by its head end, whereby the bearing can be adjustedlengthwise of said recess.

References Cited bythe Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 527,685 10/94Haege 16-130 1,216,169 2/17 Rochester 16-130 2,162,463 6/39 Schunk16-129 2,620,509 12/52 Keating 16-190 X 2,987,756 6/61 Hollansworth16-130 X DONLEY I. STOCKING, Primary Examiner.

1. AN ADJUSTMENT RETAINER FOR A VERTICAL PIVOT PIN OF A FOLDING DOOR,COMPRISING A BRACKET PROVIDED WITH AN ELONGATED HORIZONTAL BODY HAVINGINNER AND OUTER ENDS AND ADAPTED TO BE MOUNTED IN A DOORWAY WITH ITSOUTER END ADJACENT A SIDE OF THE DOORWAY, SAID BODY BEING PROVIDED WITHA VERTICALLY OPENING LONGITUDINAL RECESS, A HORIZONTAL SCREW ROTATABLYMOUNTED IN SAID RECESS AND EXTENDING LENGTHWISE THEREOF AND HAVING AHEAD END ADJACENT THE INNER END OF SAID BODY, MEANS RESTRAININGLONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT OF THE SCREW, A BEARING IN SAID RECESS SLIDABLYMOUNTED ON SAID SCREW AND PROVIDED WITH A VERTICAL HOLE FOR RECEIVING ADOOR PIVOT PIN, A SPRING IN SAID RECESS BETWEEN ITS OUTER END AND SAIDBEARING URGING THE BEARING TOWARD THE INNER END OF THE RECESS, A NUTMOUNTED ON THE SCREW IN ENGAGEMENT WITH THE SIDE OF THE BEARING OPPOSITESAID SPRING, AN EDGE OF THE NUT ENGAGING THE BRACKET BODY TO HOLD THENUT FROM ROTATING WHEN THE SCREW IS TURNED BY ITS HEAD END, WHEREBY THEBEARING CAN BE ADJUSTED LENGTHWISE OF SAID RECESS.